West Bengal's Darjeeling hills plunged into a fresh spell of political uncertainty with the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) announcing on Thursday a series of bandhs, to begin with a four-day bandh from January 12 and end with a fast-unto-death by its entire leadership next month.
The bandh call is aimed a putting pressure on the Centre to make its stand clear on the issue of a separate Gorkhaland State comprising the hills and certain areas contiguous to it in the north Bengal plains.
The announcement that carries with it the prospect of a prolonged economic shutdown in the region comes on the heels of the Srikrishna Committee report being made public earlier in the day. The GJM leadership earlier stated that its next political move would hinge on the outcome of the report.
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